I was walking merrily along, minding my own business, trying to catch up with the rest of my family that had obviously grown tired of my collecting process by then, when all of a sudden I hear a woman’s voice squeal with delight “I see you have a rosary! Congratulations, did you pray today?” I, of course, stop and look around because by then my head has been down for far too long trying to organize everything I was carrying and who knows where this woman came from. So I look up from my loot and I am greeted with this middle-aged woman’s face, staring at me with a polite smile on her face and I look up a little more and see little baby fetuses among a table in the biggest pro-life tent I have ever seen in my life.

According to yesterday's Herald, an Auckland primary school is concerned that one of their teachers is moonlighting as a prostitute. They shouldn't be. Or rather, if it doesn't affect her work output or pose a conflict of interest (and there's no suggestion of either), then it is simply none of their damn business. Quite apart from the fact that prostitution is not a crime anymore, what goes on in the privacy of people's bedrooms between consenting adults is their own concern, and absolutely no business of their employer.

Since I can barely keep up with my local issues and (I hope) the majority of national issues, these bits from other places were, um, horrific to read.

Where: On XXBN ~ listen live, talk in the chat room, & even be on-air!

Why: There's this little thing called a presidential election, as well as lots of local elections going on that night and we'll be bringing you the news, results and (fingers-crossed!) the laughs and sighs of relief. (If not we'll be crying, ranting, barfing... possibly renting U-Hauls to cross a border...)

Please join us ~ no need to RSVP, just be there. You can even join the show by calling in at 646.200.3136.

5 comments:

I know it's not your blog's schtick/focus, but surely I wasn't the only submitter who entered a blog post about the financial bailout. I'm kind of disappointed, given that this is a massive issue which will probably affect both this presidential campaign and our futures more than future Supreme Court nominees or other issues.

You're right, there were plenty of posts submitted on the topic (I think it was 5 or 6) and to be honest, as I read and reread them, they all blurred together. Finding one or even two that really stood out was something I wasn't able to do.

Now, that *could* easily have to do with "me", but then this whole hosting business is rather subjective to begin with. I tried to be fair, even eschewing pals' posts that I personally adored to keep the list as short as I could.

But, and this certainly is subjective and about my personal beliefs, I firmly believe that this "bailout" is:

#1 yet another mess which could have, should have, been avoided if key elements had been addressed earlier,

and

#2 the fallout will be carried by those of "us" who never had the ability to invest thus to begin with ~ the very same who seem to have had little-to-no voice in the political process.

The bottom line: The current system don't care that we'll pay, they don't care that we cannot invest to begin with, & they don't care that we don't have a voice to address the issue(s).

New roads must be taken. I certainly don't think McCain can forge them; and I hope Obama will have the chance to do so...

So the issue to me isn't just about the bailout, it's symptomatic of systemic issues which I felt were addressed best in the totality of the posts selected.

But, again, this was my call as host; you may not agree with my choices ~ or my beliefs ~ but it was my call. And I have, at least, tried to acknowledge your concerns ~ which is more than we are currently receiving from our government.

With much affection,Gracie

PS Greta Christina's post was "all that". At least to me; and there you must again see my points on subjectivity.

Greta Christina's post may have been selected/adored for its relevancy to my "schtick" ~ but then, if you lived your life as a non-equal in society, you'd see how such issues of gender, sexuality, education and ethics (as covered in her post on Palin) cut to the very core our rights, including the right to exist.

If you'd like to hear more on this, I suggest you listen to my show tonight.